Leahy opposes new sanctions on Iran

Sanders: Increased sanctions might help hardliners

Jan. 6, 2014

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT / File

Written by

Gannett Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Sen. Patrick Leahy is among 10 Democratic committee chairs who have urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to hold off on legislation imposing new economic sanctions on Iran.

They say lawmakers shouldn’t intervene at a time when the Obama administration and five other countries are negotiating a deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program.

“As negotiations are ongoing, we believe that new sanctions would play into the hands of those in Iran who are most eager to see the negotiations fail,” the Vermont Democrat and nine other senators wrote in a Dec. 18 letter obtained by Hill publications last month. Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also opposes new sanctions at this time.

“Clearly the sanctions have brought Iran to the table, but if increased sanctions end up driving them from the table, helping the hard-liners in Iran, that would be negative,” Sanders said in a statement.

Democrats have been at odds over sanctions, with some opposing President Barack Obama on the issue. The White House says legislation introduced last month, which would require additional sanctions if Iran fails to abide by an interim agreement reached in November, may jeopardize negotiations. The bill, introduced by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., has 14 Democratic and 19 Republican co-sponsors.

The interim deal signed Nov. 24 obligates Iran to stop producing nuclear fuel that is near weapons grade and to dilute or convert its stockpile of that fuel to a form that is harder to use for weapons. Iran also agreed to allow increased monitoring of its nuclear facilities. In return, world powers agreed to lift some sanctions on Iran, relief the White House has valued at $7 billion.

The agreement, which the White House calls "a first step," is supposed to buy time for a final, more comprehensive agreement six months from now.

In their letter to Reid, Leahy and the other senators wrote that Congress should promptly consider new sanctions legislation if Iran doesn’t abide by the interim agreement or if the final, long-term agreement doesn’t ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is for entirely peaceful purposes.

The lawmakers asked Reid to consult with them before any legislation related to Iran sanctions moves forward.